OverviewMarch 30th, 1981. Little over two months since his inauguration, President Ronald Reagan was leaving the the Washington Hilton Hotel. As he walked to his car, shots rang out. John Hinkley, Jr. fired on the President and his security detail, wounding four, including Reagan. With a bullet wound to the chest, the Secret Service rushed Reagan to a nearby hospital, and the nation held its collective breath, waiting to see if the new president would survive.